Shift to year-round school calendar | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Shift to year-round school calendar detnews.com The Detroit News:

"Idea 36: Free Michigan's schools to set up a year-round calendar.
Why: The 10-week vacation from mid-June through the end of August hurts learning and doesn't make students competitive globally with counterparts who have a longer school year. Students tend to lose a month's worth of learning during the summer, according to a Duke neuroscience professor. Students from low-income or second-language families can lose even more learning. The practice is an outdated tradition that traces back to when children were needed on the farm in the summer. More schools are embracing the a year-round school calendar -- about 3,000 nationally teaching 2.1 million students in 2006-07, according to the National Association for Year-Round Education."

From Consumers to Critics and Creators | Edutopia

From Consumers to Critics and Creators Edutopia:

"For many students, what happens in the traditional American classroom is boring. Small wonder, when you compare such relatively inanimate stuff as pencil-and-paper-bound reading, writing, and math drills to the media mix of mind-bending imagery and hair-raising sound that consumes most of their waking hours outside school.

A recent study, 'Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds,' found that students in grades 3-12 spend an average of six hours and twenty-one minutes plugged in to some type of media each day. Accounting for multitasking, the figure jumps to about eight and a half hours including nearly four hours of TV viewing and forty-nine minutes of video game play. Comparatively, homework gets slightly less than fifty minutes of attention."

VETERANS DAY, 2009

VETERANS DAY, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America. From the Minutemen who stood watch over Lexington and Concord to the service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, American veterans deserve our deepest appreciation and respect. Our Nation’s servicemen and women are our best and brightest, enlisting in times of peace and war, serving with honor under the most difficult circumstances, and making sacrifices that many of us cannot begin to imagine. Today, we reflect upon the invaluable contributions of our country’s veterans and reaffirm our commitment to provide them and their families with the essential support they were promised and have earned.

Caring for our veterans is more than a way of thanking them for their service. It is an obligation to our fellow citizens who have risked their lives to defend our freedom. This selflessness binds our fates with theirs, and recognizing those who were willing to give their last full measure of devotion for us is a debt of honor for every American.

We also pay tribute to all who have worn the uniform and continue to serve their country as civilians. Many veterans act as coaches, teachers, and mentors in their communities, selflessly volunteering their time and expertise. They visit schools to tell our Nation’s students of their experiences and help counsel our troops returning from the theater of war.

These men and women possess an unwavering belief in the idea of America: no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who your parents are, this is a place where anything is possible. Our veterans continue to stand up for those timeless American ideals of liberty, self-determination, and equal opportunity.

On Veterans Day, we honor the heroes we have lost, and we rededicate ourselves to the next generation of veterans by supporting our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen as they return home from duty. Our grateful Nation must keep our solemn promises to these brave men and women and their families. They have given their unwavering devotion to the American people, and we must keep our covenant with them.

With respect for and in recognition of the contributions our servicemen and women have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor our Nation’s veterans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2009, as Veterans Day. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I call on all Americans, including civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, and communities to support this day with commemorative expressions and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

Parents, teachers press Lansing to restore education funding | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Parents, teachers press Lansing to restore education funding detnews.com The Detroit News:

"Lansing --Pressure surrounding the largest school cuts ever boiled over in Lansing on Tuesday as lawmakers continued their stalemate on how to fund schools and parents and educators swarmed the capital in anticipation of massive reductions in their December school aid checks.

While lawmakers remain polarized over more than $600 million in cuts to K-12 schools, districts already are dismantling programs in anticipation. Dearborn, for instance, voted Tuesday to cut 200 noninstructional employees on Dec. 1 and 100 teachers in January. The Royal Oak district has said it will use federal stimulus cash to ride out this year, but on Thursday the school board will decide on a possible $780,000 cut to special education programs for the 2010-11 school year."

Duncan's raison d'etre for reform

Duncan's raison d'etre for reform:

"Humans are fallible and have a tendency to repeat past failures. Education is no exception. The pendulum of reform has had its swing back and forth over the decades with minimal progress. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is taking the bull by the horns, purporting that the very teachers, who have entrusted him as their chief, are not to be trusted to do the proper job without close supervision, re-training, and additional monetary rewards. He calls for scrutiny, an uphauling of current educational institutions by employing a trace back system that will mark the culprit, the raison d'etre for the failure of our children.

Duncan's tough, paternal scolding sends a clear message: teachers beware."

Pittsburgh proposes tuition tax | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/11/2009

Pittsburgh proposes tuition tax Philadelphia Inquirer 11/11/2009:

"A 1 percent tuition tax proposed Monday by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is just a nibble compared with the bite that college fees and tuition hikes take out of student and parent wallets, he argued yesterday.

Ravenstahl's attack on tuition and fee hikes came hours after eight leaders of local postsecondary schools gathered to blast the mayor's higher-education tax plan, saying it was illegal and would hurt the institutions' competitiveness. Ravenstahl said that if there was a competitiveness issue, it was the schools' fault."

Carol Ann Maranto, 1949-2009: Special education teacher, administrator -- chicagotribune.com

Carol Ann Maranto, 1949-2009: Special education teacher, administrator -- chicagotribune.com:

"Carol Ann Maranto worked in the special education program at Proviso East High School in Maywood for 33 years, helping hundreds of developmentally challenged teenagers find jobs and a future.

Ms. Maranto, 60, died of complications from ovarian cancer on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, her home town, said her sister Rose Marie Anichini.

With a degree in psychology from Eastern Illinois University, Ms. Maranto started her career at Proviso East in 1971 as a resource teacher, working with small groups of students. She found strong support in the school district for the special education department and enjoyed the work, her sister said."

New Haven Independent | Parents Challenged To Join Reform Drive

New Haven Independent Parents Challenged To Join Reform Drive:

"As parents leaped into New Haven’s ambitious school change campaign, Tesha Todman offered suggestions: Dock students’ grades if their parents don’t show up to report card night. And make the parents learn to use computers.

“There needs to be some kind of consequences” for parents who don’t get involved, she argued. “They make it too easy for parents not to come out.”"

Todman (at left in photo) the suggestion as she joined about 100 other parents at Wilbur Cross High School Thursday night. Two parents from each city school were summoned there by the schools superintendent to revive the Citywide Parent Teacher Organization, which fizzled in the mid-1990s.

Also Thursday, officials announced that two parents, Mary Rosario and Erik Clemons (LEAP’s executive director), have been named to the committee that’s overseeing the mayor’s school reform drive.

Taken together, the two developments marked another front in New Haven’s fast-developing, nationally-watched reform campaign:

Involving, and setting high expectations for, parents.

New York flunks GED: HS equivalency exam pass rate is shameful last in nation

New York flunks GED: HS equivalency exam pass rate is shameful last in nation:

"It is a shame of the Empire State: New York ranks dead last in the percentage of test-takers who pass the exam for a general equivalency diploma.

This is a huge problem in a city where 1.6 million young men and women are no longer in school and lack a high school diploma. For them, as well as for adult learners and immigrants, getting a GED is a crucial milestone on the way to getting a job, entering college or joining the military.

But the state Education Department funnels GED-testing money to schools, libraries and nonprofits with scant or nonexistent quality control."

Volunteers Counter Military Recruiting in High Schools | The Uptowner

Volunteers Counter Military Recruiting in High Schools The Uptowner:

"Ann Smith couldn’t walk more than 50-feet to the front door of her son’s high school before counter-recruiting volunteers approached her.

With yellow and white fliers in hand, a volunteer walked backwards and quizzed Smith on new mandates restricting military recruiters while she headed to the school.

“Are you a parent of a student?” asked Mary Ann Preston, a volunteer with United for Peace’s counter-recruiting efforts. Smith nodded yes and mentioned her son, who attends the school for a law program."

25 Chicago Students Arrested for a Middle-School Food Fight - NYTimes.com

25 Chicago Students Arrested for a Middle-School Food Fight - NYTimes.com:

"CHICAGO — The food fight here started the way such bouts do in school lunchrooms most anywhere: an apple was tossed, a cookie turned into a torpedo, and an orange plunked someone in the head. Within minutes, dozens of middle-school students had joined in the ruckus, and spattered adults were ducking for cover.

By the end of the day, 25 of the students, ages 11 to 15, had been rounded up, arrested, taken from school and put in jail. A spokesman for the Chicago police said the charges were reckless conduct, a misdemeanor."

States Compete for Federal School Dollars - NYTimes.com

States Compete for Federal School Dollars - NYTimes.com:

"DENVER — Colorado’s lieutenant governor, Barbara O’Brien, has been parsing every public statement by Education Secretary Arne Duncan for nuances that could help her position the state as a winner in the $4 billion competition for federal school dollars known as Race to the Top."

And officials in dozens of other states have been doing the same, said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, a nonpartisan association of state superintendents of education.

“Whenever we have a conversation about any issue these days, Race to the Top is the gorilla in the room,” Mr. Wilhoit said.

The last time education officials were reading tea leaves so obsessively was after the 2001 No Child Left Behind law reshaped America’s public school landscape. Now Race to the Top is again redefining what Washington calls reform, setting in motion a new cycle of federal school

Schools lose 500 aides at end of week despite tough fight from union

Schools lose 500 aides at end of week despite tough fight from union:

"Friday will be the last day for more than 500 low-paid public school aides.

Despite a tough fight from their union, the city told principals on Tuesday that the aides, who make an average of $20,000 a year, were losing their jobs.

The leader of District Council 37 said the layoffs are devastating, not only for the workers, but students as well.

'Thousands of children in the city's poorest communities have lost the support staff they need to make the most of their educational experience,' said District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts."

Valley Star - Rally Against the Machine: Students Protest Budget Cuts

Valley Star - Rally Against the Machine: Students Protest Budget Cuts:

"Students gathered in Valley’s main entrance Wednesday to rally against rising fees, expensive textbooks, the cutting of numerous classes, and other consequences caused by cuts to education.
The Political Action Coalition organized students and teachers to speak at the rally while collecting signatures on petition cards that are to be sent to Sacramento.

“When they say cut back, we say fight back!” students chanted. Others held up banners reading, “Don’t budget our education.”

Budget cuts affect every sector, not just colleges and universities. Students cannot transfer on time because of cuts to classes, increased fees and overcrowded classes."

Chicago changes criteria for admission to magnet, selective schools -- chicagotribune.com

Chicago changes criteria for admission to magnet, selective schools -- chicagotribune.com:

"In the wake of a federal order placing race off-limits as a key admissions criterion to the city's most competitive schools, the Chicago Public Schools will use a battery of socioeconomic factors to distribute the coveted spots -- a strategy officials hope will maintain racial integration while enhancing economic integration.

It is unclear what the impact of the new policy will be. The district is only putting it in place for a year, after which officials will assess the results.

Skeptics long have been cynical about moves from racial to socioeconomic integration, pointing to other districts where schools became more segregated after the lifting of a federal order to racially integrate, such as in San Francisco, Denver and Norfolk, Va. They think Chicago's plan will be no different."

California finances plummet less than three months after budget passage

California finances plummet less than three months after budget passage:

"California finance officials have announced that the state has a current budget deficit of $1.1 billion. News of the shortfall comes less than 10 weeks after a balanced budget deal was reached by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature.

An October report released by State Controller John Chiang announced that the latest budget deficit was mainly due to a large drop in third quarter income tax collection; revenues were 11 percent lower than initially projected.

The California Department of Finance is also expecting a deficit of $7.4 billion at the start of fiscal year 2010-2011, which begins next July. This could climb to as high as $20 billion by the start of fiscal year 2011-2012."

School closures capture attention from across globe - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com

School closures capture attention from across globe - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com:

"It is not the kind of publicity Hawaii wants, but the state's decision to shut public schools for 17 Furlough Fridays has made a big media splash."

"Hawaii's Children, Left Behind," declared the headline of a New York Times editorial. At the Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews wrote a piece with the scathing title "Idiocy in Paradise: Hawaii Handles School Budget Cuts Badly."

National television networks have spotlighted the story, along with TIME, the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. And the news has gone global. The Guardian of London and the BBC both covered it. A Chinese-language Web site highlighted "Hawaii's Budget Cut: No School Fridays." And Radio Australia recently interviewed the head of the state Board of Education.

Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi said the news coverage tends to sensationalize the issue, but "if the negative press encourages our leaders to put education at the top of our priority list, I'm more than happy to accept it.

"Nobody's happy with having to furlough teachers and have less instructional days," Toguchi said. "But that ignores the economic reality. The economy is not getting any better. So instead of worrying about what we don't have, we need to figure out how we're going to mitigate the continuing negative impacts on the budget next year."

Schwarzenegger creates preschool panel - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Schwarzenegger creates preschool panel - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"California now has a California State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and a better chance at a share of $100 million in Head Start stimulus funds.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order Monday that established the council to make the state eligible for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money.

The program is offering grants of at least $500,000 to support states establishing these councils and developing early childhood education plans, according to a news release from the Governor's Office. California is expected to receive as much as $10.7 million over three years through the program, according to state officials."

Editorial: Assembly must work quickly to pass Race to the Top education reforms - San Jose Mercury News

Editorial: Assembly must work quickly to pass Race to the Top education reforms - San Jose Mercury News:

"The California Senate last week passed a bill paving the way for the state to get its share of $4.35 billion in education grants from the Obama administration — the largest pool of money ever created for education reform.

The Assembly must quickly follow suit. Speaker Karen Bass needs to call members back into session by next month to act — not wait until January, as she's suggested.

The Senate bill, SBX5 1, was proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to ensure that the state meets qualifications for a federal Race to the Top grant. Passing easily on a bipartisan vote, it would eliminate a cap on the number of new charter schools; make it easier for students to transfer out of failing schools; allow the state to tie student test scores to teacher reviews, and lay out specific ways to fix failing schools."

CSU to ask state for $884 million more

CSU to ask state for $884 million more:

"As California State University prepares to close its doors to tens of thousands of qualified students next year, Chancellor Charles Reed said Tuesday he will ask Sacramento for $884 million to meet CSU's budget needs - a long-shot request from the cash-strapped state."

At the same time, a dozen popular CSU campuses - including San Francisco, Sonoma and San Jose in the Bay Area - will limit enrollment by making it harder for certain applicants to qualify, and by setting the application deadline for fall 2010 weeks early, at midnight Nov. 30.

"The California dream is access to higher education," Reed told reporters who asked how he would make his case for a 2010-11 budget that is two-thirds new money, and one-third restoration of funds cut out of the last state budget.

He said he'll ask lawmakers to readjust their priorities.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/11/BAQL1AI2AH.DTL#ixzz0WYVOAmLW